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Friday, July 31, 2015

Iron Gods (Backwards) The Choking Tower (Part 3): Session 1

In last week's session of my Pathfinder game the party started the third adventure in theIron Gods Adventure Path: The Choking Tower. As usual spoilers for a published adventure path below the jump.Characters:Modok:Android Magus (Bladedroid, Kensai)/7 with 26 Fame- Balance Artificial Intelligence/5, AI weapon, NPC Tebryn Vonnarc: Drow Magus (Eldritch Scion, Spelldancer)/7 with 27 Fame- Kelvora Viper, familiar, NPC Dagna Skyforge: Dwarf Magus(Soulforger)/7 with 25 FameAnkul Bitor: Ratfolk Magus/4 Alchemist (Vivisectionist)/1 Rogue/2 with 24 Fame- Steeltail: Ratfolk Rogue/4, NPC (League Hireling) Before leaving Starfall the party did some review of what they knew already and some research about their next step. They got Nalakai's journal translated and found that it mostly confirmed what they already suspected about Unity and Silver Mount. They did some Knowledge (Local) checks and Diplomacy rolls to try to find out what they could about Iadenveigh. They learned that Iandenveigh is populated by Luddites who worship Erastil and that the nearby Choking Tower was built by former League member who was kicked out for being too obnoxious about worshiping Zyphus, the god of Accidental Death, a wizard named Furkas Xoud. Xoud had come to Iadenveigh looking for Casandalee (as had the famous adventurers Karamoss the machine mage and the Pathfinder Gojan Sharp with no success in prior centuries). The wizard Ghartone had words with them about failing to do anything about Pauldris Gray.Modok and Dagna got the following secret message from Quelzandi
Verdinangban:"As you have possibly begun to suspect, there is an
entity inside Silver Mount that is undergoing apothesis. This intelligence
has followers inside the League, although I'm not sure who. I believe it
intends to convert the League into it's own mortal cult, which since
this entity is technological is all too plausible. Your mission to
Ianvendeigh is of course involved in this. Whatever you find there must
not go to Ghartone or any other league members that we do not trust.
Your own companions are probably not part of the faction that is in
Unity's thrall, but they still cannot be trusted. Good luck."Ankul Bitor got the the following briefing from Baggocio Thune:"I believe that Zadow is up to something, and its related to this Unity thing you seem to have stumbled upon. Make sure all information about this comes to me, and try to control it from reaching Zadow's creature Ghartone or that snake Merisk. I have reason to believe your companions aren't really players in this game, but try to keep them from passing information to Ghartone or Merisk if you can. I have solid intelligence that Ghartone has an agent in place in Iadenveigh. To serve me in this is to serve the Prince in Chains, may we be rewarded with joyous suffering!"Maristhiel
Ascendari had this to say to Tebryn:"Hey, there my trusted little lieutenant, you bring me the best stuff, you know? If you see any good stuff when you are doing whatever the hell you are doing, you are going to bring it to me, right?"They left Starfall and headed south after spending one month in the city. While traveling they (randomly) encountered a Technic League contingent returning from the Sellen Hills, and traded spells with the wizard leading it. That night they camped (uneventfully) near the First Blade's Path and in the morning (randomly) encountered a troll drinking from a stream, which they killed. They tracked the troll back to its lair and found some (randomly generated) treasure. They arrived in Iadendeigh and decided to conceal their technological gear (although there was little to be done about Modok and they don't like androids much there). They went straight to the town community center/tavern the High Home where they met High Home's caretaker and town welcomer, Iadrin "Redfang" Ashworth (drink mutagenic water that stains your teeth permanently red once...) . They talked to Redfang, claiming they've come following Gojan Sharp's old adventures. Redfang said that he'd be inclined to help them if they were able to help him first, and said that he has two problems: a missing farmer and a possible traitor. The PCs express interest in the latter, but he strongly hints that he'd like to take care of the former as soon as possible. The adventurers agree. Redfang tells them about Jevik, a local who lives at the fringes (both literally and figuratively) of the town. He's not well liked and has a reputation as a drunken confabulatist. Which is why nobody believed him win he claimed that a huge monster was nosing around his farm, but now he hasn't been seen in days,At the Jevik farm its clear that something is terribly wrong, there's blood everywhere, huge clawed furrows in the earth, and all the livestock is missing. The party tracks the monster to its nest in the center of the orchards. It's a yaoguai. The PCs don't know much about this monster, but they end up killing it in a couple of rounds while taking no damage anyway. They also manage to do it without using any of their technological gear in front of Redfang, so he rewards them with a Hearth Mantle (a cloak that has a number of fire related effects).Redfang then introduces them to the town's Ealdorman (leader) Ivick Gunnet. Gunnet turns out to be much more forward thinking than his townsfolk, and doesn't mind them using technology in town, but warns them to be discreet about it. He recognizes them as the "heroes of Torch" and tells them that he thinks he might have a Technic League spy in the town. A hunter shot down a mechanical bird with the following note inside it:“Locals identified southern springs as the source of the area’s mutations and now avoid it. Afflictions consistent with mutagenic gas poisoning, as you posited from Silver Mount expeditions. I will explore with caution; locals avoid the area and my current cover would seem noticeably out of place were I discovered there.”He told them he wants to find the spy, but without getting the townsfolk all worked up. He suggested they either check out the Badwater, the local mutagenic springs or go over to Heddick's lumberyard where there are some merchants camped out. The delvers decided to try the lumberyard first.In the lumberyard they found a group of Varisian merchants camped there. The Varisians were pretty suspicious about strangers nosing around after them and Heddick was protective of his guests. They didn't get any information about the spy, but Tebryn did get a Harrow reading (I used an actual Harrow deck).XP: 1200 eachTreasure: Troll's lair:Potion of Reduce Person, Potion of Stabilize, mwk. breastplate, mwk shortsword, aquamarine (600 gp), 1 dose of djezet, 2 silverdisks, 23 gp Redfang's Reward:Hearth Mantle

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